Larry Levine, who was instrumental in helping Phil Spector achieve his coveted Wall of Sound recording technique, has died.

Levine passed away last week on his 80th birthday at his home in Encino, his wife Lyn, confirmed.

In a recent interview, Levine recalled his first meeting with Spector, during which the pair formed a partnership which lasted a number of years.

"He said to me he had the sound in his head that he wanted to create," Levine said.

Levine and Spector’s first collaboration came on The Crystals ‘He’s A Revel’ in 1962 and continued to flourish on the Ronettes ‘Be My Baby’.

The sound engineer was born in New York in 1928 and served with the US Army during the Korean War, reports Associated Press.

Levine learned his trade alongside his cousin, Stan Ross, who told the Los Angeles Times that Levine had “made Phil Spector a genius by applying the simple logic of using echo chamber”.

In 2003, Levine said he was sad that Phil Spector had been arrested on suspicion of murdering b-movie actress Lana Clarkson.